Beach bag



Sept. 11, 1962 s. A. LO VICO BEACH BAG 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 15,1959 ur n INVENTOR: Salvatore A.L0Vico AGENT- S. A. LO VlCO Sept. 11,1962 BEACH BAG 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 15, 1959 INVENTOR: Salvalore A.LoVico A GE NT l l hrv United States Patent 3,052,295 BEACH BAGSalvatore A. Lo Vico, 194-21 111th Road, Queens, N.Y. Filed May 15,1959, Ser. No. 813,457 1 Claim. (Cl. -644) My present invention relatesto a folding bag for beach use of the type designed to transport thereinthe u ual water-absorbent apparel such as bathing suits, towels androbes.

It is known that utility bags for seaside use have been produced whichcommonly are adapted to be opened from a folded carrying position into afull-length extended position and thus to be lain upon prone by theirusers when sun-bathing or resting between water-plunge periods.Additionally, a variety of special pockets or compartments may be seenprovided in the conventional bag for the purpose of storing the wet andsand-soiled articles of beach wear, these spaces being intended toeffect an isolation of the so humidified portions of the bag from theexterior areas and other parts thereof which it is desired to keep dryand clean.

While many such beach bags are capable of obtaining a certain degree ofwet/ dry separation, this is true only inconsistently and in a relativesense since the portions desired to be kept dry (eg. those used to storefood) are not positively or easily separable, if at all, from theWettable terry cloth or blanket upon which a person may lie and fromother so-called wet-storage spaces, hence they are unavoidably exposedat least partially to the wetting eifect of, for axample, the waterdrippings from the body of an after-dip recliner or the seepage fromadjacent pockets containing wet towels or the like. Another complaintheard against the conventional bag is that the storage of the usedwetted beach wear in the variously located pockets tends to make the bagbulgy and cumbersome to handle and confers upon it a certain misshapenappearance giving too easy notice that its carrier is indeed returningfrom a day at the beach.

In avoiding the above difiiculties, it is one of the objects of myinvention to provide -a compact folding bag for beach use adapted forthe wet storage of a large sheet member such as a robe or a blanket, aswell as other apparel, with simultaneous dry storage of other articleseffectively separated from such apparel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a structural combinationallowing for quick and positive replaceable detachment of an elementthereof, e.g. a sheet designed for use as a robe or recumbent support,from other elements of the combination.

Still another object is to provide a beach bag designed so that itsoverall dimensional shape and appearance will remain substantiallyunaffected by the moist or dry condition of one of its elements.

An important feature of my invention is the provision of a bag formedfrom four hingedly interconnected portions of sheet material, with thetwo outer portions adapted to be folded inside the inner portions andwith closur means such as slide fasteners adapted to secure the twoinner portions together along their edges, these two inner portions deiming with their adjacent outer portions an elongated flattenedcompartment accommodating a removable lining preferably in the form ofan absorbent sheet. A second compartment, efiectively isolated from thefirst one, is formed between the foldedover outer portions. According toa further feature, either or both outer portion may be provided with apocket affording additional, completely closed storage space. Anotherfeature resides in the formation of part of one outer portion as acushion or head rest.

Other objects, advantages and features of my invention will becomeapparent from the following description given with reference to theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the detached lining of my improved bagin use by a recumbent person;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the foldable bag portions in their extendedposition, without the lining of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view similar to that of FIG. 2 but illustrating thelining of FIG. 1 secured to and forming part of the folding-bagcombination;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the bag in its folded position butunlocked and partially open; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the bag in its folded and lockedposition suitable for carrying.

The folding bag shown in the drawing comprises a lining 15 (FIG. 1) ofabsorbent fabric, such as terry cloth, and an envelope 10 (FIG. 2) ofsuitable Waterrepellent plastic or other flexible sheet material. Thebag envelope 1% is made up of four distinct, substantially coextensiveprincipal portions including an outer pair 11a, 11b and an inner pair12a, 12b. The inner pair of principal portions 12a, 12b are linkedtogether by a smaller intermediate portion 12, especially reinforced bya cardboard 12 so as to serve as the supporting bottom (FIG. 3) of thebag 10 in the latters folded position (FIG. 5 or 6). The end portion11a, representing one extremity of the unfolded bag, encloses a headrest 11a formed, for example, by a foam-rubber cushion (see also FIG. 3)filling substantially the terminal half of portion 11a and separated bya sewn seam 11a from its other half. The opposite end portion 11b, atthe other extremity of the spread-out envelope 10, is formed with aninsulated pocket 11b closable by a slide fastener 11b" which is locatedon the reverse sid of envelope portion 11b so as to be readilyaccessible when the bag is closed, see FIG. 5.

In FIG. 4 I have shown the lining 15 removably mounted onto the internalsurface area of envelope 10 by flexible lugs 13 spacedly disposed atperipheral locations on each side of the bags length (see also FIG. 2),these lugs each having a male snap fastener 13 mating with a femalefastener 13" provided correspondingly along the longitudinal fold lines15c, 15d of the lining. The cloth 15 is openable from the center foldline to a width approximately double that of portion 12a or 12b andprojects lengthwise beyond portion 11b for the distance represented by acloth extension 15'. Thus, in FIG. 1 a recumbent person mayillustratively be seen utilizing to good effect the extra width andlength dimensions for wrap-around and foot-overlapping comfort whileresting.

As clearly seen in FIG. 3, the sheet forming the envelope 10 consists oftwo layers which are separated at two locations to accommodate thecushion 11a and the stiffener 12.

The laid-out lining 15 secured to the bag envelope 10 as shown in FIG. 4becomes, in the folded position of the bag in FIG. 5, a storagecompartment for wet apparel tucked under the folds 15a, 15b. With theapparel thus stowed and the bag folded to the stage of FIG. 5, laterallypositioned slide fasteners 14a and 14b entrain their slides 14a, 14b,respectively, and with a downward fastening movement draw shut each sideof the now erect bag (FIG. 6) which may then be carried by the twinhandle 16. The portions 12a, 12b then define a central dry-storagecompartment 17 effectively separated by the flaps 11a, 11b from awet-storage compartment 18 which holds the lining 15 and the pieces ofwet apparel (not shown) enveloped thereby.

It has been seen by the foregoing that I have provided a beach bag witha versatility and efficiency of employment hitherto unobtained in theart as far as I am aware.

Thus, the lining 15 may be readily separated from bag envelope 10 by areversal of the mounting procedure described above and used as a robe,towel or reclining sheet, in this manner avoiding the possibility ofwetting or sand-flecking such food items as may then conveniently bedisposed on and around the bag area. Upon quiekly reattaehing' the cloth15, its extensive length may advantageously be converted into a majorcompartment for storingwet beach apparel which, with only a casualflattening to avoid bulges, can be tucked under the cloth folds 15a and15b which will absorb their moisture so as to prevent the wetting of anyarticles carried in central compartment 17 between portions 12a, 12b.This method of storing even a considerable quantity of wet articleswithout resorting to the use of pockets enables the compactness and neatappearance of the portable structure of FIG. 6 to be well preserved.Pocket 11b, it will be noted, can be used as a dry container for foodand, if so desired, another such drycornpartment (not shown) can beeasilyprovided on the halt which is separated by the seam 11a" fromhead-rest half 11a of bag portion lla. 'This and other modifications, aswill be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art, are intended tobe embraced Within the scope of the invention as defined in the appendedclaims I claim:

A bag comprising a continuous, elongated strip of sheet material adaptedto be folded to form an envelope, and a lining detachably secured tosaid strip along the periphery thereof, said strip consisting of aplurality of longitudinally adjoining, hingedly interconnected portionsincluding an inner pair and an outer pair of said portions,

each of said portions being foldable about an edge of an I adjacent oneof said portions in a direction transverse to the major extension ofsaid strip, said inner pair of portions being provided on oppositelongitudinal edges With mating closure means for joining said inner pairof portions together along said edges with said outer pair of portionsfolded therebetween, said lining having a width exceeding the width ofsaid strip and being foldable longitudinally to a width less than thatof said strip whereby said lining may be removably contained within thespace between said inner andsaid outer pairs of portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

